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Dairy Exports Marred by Milk Prices

The main obstacle in the way of expanding exports of dairy products is high price of milk, says chairman of Agriculture, Water and Foodstuffs Commission at Tehran’s Chamber of Trade, Industries, Mining and Agriculture, Kaveh Zargaran, adding that the issue is significantly undermining Iran’s competitiveness in regional markets. “For instance, Turkey’s dairy industries, which are our main rivals in Iraqi and Russian dairy markets, purchase milk at the price $0.3 per kilogram. The price in Iran is $0.4 while dairy farmers are pushing to bring it up to $0.5, in which case the industry’s export markets will be totally lost,” he was quoted by Persian daily Forsat-e Emrouz as saying. The pricing system in regional countries, especially Turkey, is based on supply and demand and current global prices, while in Iran prices are set by the government, which weakens the country’s standing in global markets. He suggested that the government should pay subsidies to dairy farmers, reduce the transportation costs, and guide producers towards safe markets to minimize risks.